Open Broadcaster

Open Broadcaster's founder, "Radio Rob[,] always loved the reach of radio within communities, but was fed up with the restrictive way of streaming media from a fixed studio space using desktop applications, so he created a simple to use web based inclusive system, where the community runs radio stations with emergency messaging..." While the various solutions offered by Open Broadcaster differ in their specific functions, they are linked by several common features, such as:

• All are Open Source - under the AGPL3 Open Source Licence, the base software offering is free to use, even for commercial applications. Click here to learn more.
• All are managed through a web-based portal using Chrome, FireFox, Safari, or any other modern browser to securely run a media operation from anywhere in the world.
• All provide crucial emergency messaging services to audiences using supported media types including audio, image, and video.
• All are highly upgradable - click a button and get the most recent upgrades free.

Open Broadcaster's business model is based on the development of public domain open source software with revenue generated through customisation, service, and technical support. In the event a customer has specific requirements outside of a standard release, custom modules may be developed and supported with service and onsite training. The latter can involve showing people how to run an internet radio station and how to do voice-overs.

In addition to a dedicated support website featuring manuals, free training outlines, instructional "how-to" webinar videos, and the like, the main Open Broadcaster website includes a series of case studies that illustrate Open Broadcaster in action. For example, faced with a serious decline in the number of speakers of the indigenous Nuxalk langauage, the Nuxalk Nation of Q'umk'uts' (Bella Coola, British Columbia) decided that it needed to increase the presence of the Nuxalk language in the lives of its membership. Establishing a radio station to broadcast Nuxalk language content was identified as a key strategy to help preserve and promote the threatened language. In 2013, the Nuxalk Nation contacted Open Broadcaster to help set up a radio station in the community. Out of this collaborative initiative sprung CKNN Nuxalk Radio - 91.1 FM, a not-for-profit community radio station that is operated by volunteers and managed by the Nuxalk Radio Committee. Nuxalk Radio uses the Open Broadcaster platform to run its service, including management of Nuxalk language media assets. Nuxalk Radio ensures that a significant amount of its broadcast schedule is dedicated to educating listeners about Nuxalk language, history, and culture. In addition, the station helps to promote community events such as the annual Bella Coola Music Festival, which the station broadcasts live.

Along those lines, one of Open Broadcaster's priorities is on providing language and cultural preservation tools. Many indigenous peoples worldwide have stopped speaking their endangered ancestral languages, as most of the world's languages are transmitted orally, some without written records, or using rare dialects and fonts. Two key goals of a successful language revival are to teach kids and to encourage other family members to put the language back into the home. Technology is not going to go away, so the idea is to use it to help retain various languages and cultural properties. Open Broadcaster indicates that there are employment and training opportunities for local indigenous groups for developing relationships with other regional broadcasters to exchange stories and shows globally, extending the reach of programming.

Community Media, Indigenous Language Preservation